The Ancient Strengthening Technique

AST 2249 - Spawning of the Black Ice Divine Worm

Qing Shui was now the Palace Lord of the Divine Palace and would naturally wish for the loyalty of those within. If not loyalty towards him, then at least towards the Divine Palace itself. He didn't wish to command the group of outstanding warriors and would rather be accepted wholeheartedly by the people.

Loyalty was earned through action, not words. While it was too soon to speak of loyalty for this group, Qing Shui observed the genuineness in the Beast King Battle God and his comrades towards the Divine Palace, and he was sure that they would slowly adapt, slowly finding their sense of belonging.

Only those who found a sense of belonging there, could truly be loyal.

The Divine Palace had an addition of these four decent Battle Gods, with the Mighty Strength Battle God holding the most potential. Qing Shui looked forward to the day when the Mighty Strength Battle God could unleash his full potential. How strong would that be? The Divine Palace would be a terrifying existence by then.

Qing Shui hadn't gone back to the Imperial Cuisine Hall in a long while and neither did he plan to. With Zhang Yue there, there was nothing to be worried about. The Sea King Palace had the protection from its Guardian Vine and would be fine too. He wasn't worried.

These days, Qing Shui didn't think about the incident with the Demon Gate, but news kept coming. The Demon Gate had completely taken over the Northern King Domain, and many strong warriors had joined their ranks. There were also Demon Kings among them.

The Demon Gate's actions left the Divine Palace, the Taiyi Immortal Palace, and the Silver Dragon Palace ill at ease. Regardless of the circumstances, the Divine Palace was the one who destroyed the Golden Yakshas; nobody knew if the Demon Gate would make a move against them. If they really did make a move on the Taiyi Immortal Palace or the Silver Dragon Palace, then what should they do?

At the thought of Tantai Lingyan, Qing Shui felt an aching pain. He wasn't her match and even if he was able to kill her, would he?

He still had a killing technique up his sleeve which he hadn't used for a long while, the Marrow Nibbling Golden Dragon Silkworm. This was something which could kill an invincible opponent, but he couldn't bear to use it on Tantai Lingyan.

It was a miserable thought. Tantai Lingyan was capable of hurting him without reservations, and she was no longer the woman he knew before. The next time they met, they would be enemies and he'd have to kill her.

The more he told himself that, the more he felt like he couldn't do it. She had already been through so much; she was so alone, and she was his lover. He wanted to find a way to bring her back…

"Don't dwell on it if you don't have an answer. Why torture yourself like that? Just go with the flow, perhaps a perfect resolution would come from there." Shen Huang said as she stood alongside Qing Shui, her heart aching as she observed him.

Qing Shui responded with a bitter laugh as he held her, "I feel useless and helpless. I'm watching with my own eyes but there's nothing I can do."

"We're all humans, not Gods. This is normal. It's wishful thinking to achieve whatever we want; it's isn't possible to do everything as we please. Don't you think it'd be boring if that were the case? You'd lose all excitement in life," said Shen Huang gently.

"It feels so terrible when it's lost." Qing Shui couldn't bear the word 'lost'.

"Don't be too pessimistic. Sometimes you may be able to capture more by loosening your hands. Perhaps you wouldn't lose her once you've broadened your thinking," said Shen Huang in a serious tone.

"I didn't realize you were a philosopher." Qing Shui smiled.

"How dare you tease me, I'll hit you." Shen Huang landed two soft hits on Qing Shui's chest.

Qing Shui laughed. It made him happy to see such a goddess being a docile lady in front of him. He knew that it was intentional on Shen Huang's part to cheer him up. A woman could be extremely considerate towards a man, especially a woman like her. Some things that were hard to do may be easy at times.

"Young Mistress, you're so beautiful." Qing Shui watched the woman in front of him with her head slightly lowered.

"Am I?" Sheng Huang smiled at him, both her hands were entangled in his.

"You're magnificent. As beautiful as a goddess." They had been through much together. She had come asking a favor as she neared death. Then, Qing Shui had brought her to search for a Blaze Moth and while they couldn't find it, they got the Sacred Fruit. It was able to detox her body of the toxin from Black Ice Divine Worm.

"Oh, that's right. I found a Black Ice Divine Worm. Are you interested?" Shen Huang changed the topic.

Just as Qing Shui recalled the previous time he had pleasured her with his hands, he was greeted with the news of the Black Ice Divine Worm. This was something Qing Shui was curious about, as well as the terror of its Black Ice Poison.

"Where is it? Let's go capture it." Qing Shui knew that Shen Huang wouldn't lie to him and questioned instantly.

"Within the Icy Mountain of the Northern Cloud."

Hm. It wasn't surprising that the Black Ice Divine Worm would appear in that environment and neither was it far from where Qing Shui was. With a nod, he spoke again, "Let's go then. We might make it back for dinner."

The pair entered the Icy Mountain of the Northern Cloud before long. Through their aerial view, there were topsy-turvy glaciers, mountains, and rivers as far as their eyes could see. It was a majestic view. It was fortunate that they were both strong; against the strong cold air current in the atmosphere, they would have been frozen into ice sculptures otherwise.

"Oh, right. How big is the Black Ice Divine Worm?" Qing Shui asked.

"During combat, it's about a few hundred meters long. Its entire body seems to be made up of black metal, as shiny and smooth as ice. It can dissipate the attacks made against it, lowering the damages and it's immensely powerful. It was able to spray ice cold wind which has toxins in it. Its teeth are poisonous too and can cause decay.

"Rumor has it that even Divine Artifacts wouldn't be able to torment it," Shen Huang replied after some thought.

"It's enormous and it's still regarded as a worm?" Qing Shui was speechless.

"Which is why it has the word 'Divine' in its name!" Shen Huang chuckled and replied.

"Wow, even the Young Mistress can make a joke now." Qing Shui laughed along.

Shen Huang stopped laughing and threw Qing Shui a charming sideway glance.

It wasn't easy to look for the Black Ice Divine Worm in such a vast space. They stopped at where Shen Huang first spotted it, near the outer ring of the Icy Mountain of the Northern Cloud. They didn't know what the Black Ice Divine Worm was doing there either. Typically, it wouldn't be there if there wasn't anything for it.

At that thought, Qing Shui moved hastily in that direction, thinking that perhaps there was some sort of treasure.

Qing Shui spotted a gigantic creature from afar. It was still here. About a few meters in length, six meters in width without a single pair of legs. The slick creature was exuding an icy-like glow, looking like an enlarged worm.

Its mouth was horrifying. It occupied half of its face with a pair of small, radiant black eyes.

It was in a secluded location and Qing Shui found out why. There were different types of restrictions around them. Qing Shui and Shen Huang were still outside of these restrictions when they saw what the Black Ice Divine Worm was doing.

Spawning. The Black Ice Divine Worm was here to spawn…

Why didn't the Black Ice Divine Worm keep its spawns inside the Icy Mountain Cloud? Why did it choose to spawn out in the surrounding area? While it was secluded, it was a narrow valley surrounded by mountains. There was only a cave that cuts through with many poisonous plants around. The air glistened with an icy glow; it was the Black Ice Divine Worm's venom.